Horseshoe crabs increasing in Delaware Bay

[Donna]

Strict harvest controls and a total ban on taking horseshoe crabs in New Jersey helped boost the Delaware Bay population after a long decline. But the demand for crabs as commercial fishing bait appears to have shifted to New York and New England, where harvests "may not be sustainable," according to a new biological assessment.

That "redirected harvest" means coastal states should continue to set conservative limits on the bait business, according to a report issued Friday by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

Frozen horseshoe crabs are used as bait for whelk and eel traps, and expansion of those fisheries led to a peak harvest of nearly 6 million pounds in 1997, according to the report. That year then-Gov. Christine Todd Whitman imposed emergency controls on crabbing at the urging of bird conservation groups who linked a decline in migrating shorebirds on Delaware Bay to the bait fishery.

Since then, New Jersey has been the most aggressive state on the issue, with a complete ban on taking horseshoe crabs still bitterly opposed by commercial fishermen. Since 2005, estimated crab numbers in Delaware Bay have more than doubled to more than 8 million, with the biggest increases seen in juveniles and adult males, according to the report.

The commission has not formally adopted biological reference points to define the state of horseshoe crab stocks, but evidence used in the stock assessment indicates the crabs have grown in abundance on the southeast coast and in Delaware Bay, the report says.

Shorebird advocates have fought against proposals to liberalize the Delaware Bay crabbing limits, arguing that the population has a long way to go before it can provide the abundance of eggs that birds like the red knot found on beaches in the 1980s.

[Mirta]

Thanks fot this good news!!
 
Mirta

[Donna]

Thanks fot this good news!!
 
Mirta

I thought of you Mirta!

[valhalla]

About 20 years ago, Rockfish (aka Stripped Bass) were almost fished out of the Bay.  They lay eggs here, up the Hudson, etc. and grow off shore.  Fishing Rock was either banned or severly limited for about 3 years.  Rock is a great sport fish and great to eat, so the fishermen were both not happy and ecconomicly impacted.  The Rock came back and is doing well.  I'm amazed at how quickly they came back.  A few lean years ecconomicly (never something to look forward to in an industry alreadys hurting), but a rebound is a good thing.  I also think you end up with wiser end users.  Good news on the horseshoe crab!